Murder of John "Henry" Bernard Nurre

The image has a typo it's supposed to be 1814 not 1914

In 1890, 76-year-old John "Henry" Nurre and his third wife 57-year-old Elizabeth. The couple had been married for 20 years and lived in rural Clinton County near Brown’s Station, Iowa. The area that the couple were living in was mostly Catholic including them. They would seldom miss any meetings at the church.

Henry was also one of the richest men in their area of the state and was highly esteemed by many. He had more real estate mortgages in Jackson County than anyone else. For the last 4 years, he was a member of the Board of Supervisors of Clinton County. It was estimated that he was worth $250,000.

On March 12, 1890, Henry and Elizabeth did not show up to the 13-hour church meeting. This was concerning, however, it wasn't until they didn't show up to the Thursday meeting people got worried. Elizabeth's son-in-law Theo Hullman, and the Priest were worried because the two never showed up to the meeting. This was unusual for them. The two would go home and investigate to see why the two didn't show up.

When they went inside the house they would go into either the kitchen and find Henry dead near the table. He was in a large pool of blood and had a large gash on the back of his head and another which hit his jugular vein in his neck.

Elizabeth was found unconscious in their bedroom in the attic above the kitchen. She had been attacked with a hammer and she had nine deep scalp wounds. She would stay unconscious for several more weeks before regaining consciousness. However, she could not provide any information on what had happened.

It's believed that the attack happened on the evening of March 11th. Henry was sitting in the sitting room responding to a letter from his son. The letter was received on the 10th and the letter Henry was writing was dated the 11th. It seemed Henry was nearly finished with the letter when he was killed.

The murderer or murderers tried to clean up the pool of blood. There were clothes stained with the blood found on the teakettle. They then dragged Henry into the kitchen. It's unknown why they had done this, but maybe they were thinking of destroying the scene and never got to do it for some reason.


Elizabeth must have witnessed the murder as it seemed that she had run to their bedroom in the attic. She had tried to barricade the door, but they had broken it open with a poker. They would then attack her with the poker and then the hammer when they found it. The room was left a mess with the bestead broken to pieces, the bedding scattered and blood covered almost everything in the room. It was a miracle that she survived.

In another bedroom, a safe was found. It was unknown if the killer or killers were able to get it open, but the dial had been broken off. In the same room, there was a little satchel that Henry was known to carry money and papers. One of Elizabeth's skirts was lying over it and it wasn't seen by the killers. Inside was $1,105 and some papers indicating he was planning to go to Preston that night. Likely after he was done writing his letter and eating dinner.

Theo stated that it was not normal for Henry to have that much cash on him at once and usually only carried around $100 to $150. However, he himself had recently paid him the $1,000 on Sunday so it must have been that money in his satchel.

SOURCES:
Iowa Cold Cases

Find a Grave

The Pharmacy Maniac

On May 26, 2011, a masked man with a sawed-off shotgun, and black cellophane bag would walk into a Klassika Pharmacy at 34 Lenina Prospekt in the Chelyabinsk city center in Chelyabinsk, Russia. There were a total of 8 people in the pharmacy. There were 4 employees and 4 customers. He would then demand valuables from everyone inside saying "I need 60 thousand rubles. Put the money in, whoever doesn’t want to, can move away, but I will shoot you in the stomach."

The people inside would oblige and give up their money and valuables. Two women would enter and would end up also giving their jewelry. Four of the people inside were able to escape through an exit in another room.

49-year-old Vladamir Shin entered the pharmacy. He would see the robbery happening and began to run out the front door. The Masked man would scream "Stop" just before shooting Vladamir in the chest. This would kill him and the masked man would flee the scene

He was described as wearing a medical mask, glasses, and a hat. Items given to the man were gold chains, bracelets, a ring, a cross, a church pendant, and money.

Around 5:30 on August 10, 2011, the man would once again walk into another Klassika Pharmacy. This one was 500 meters from the first one. This time upon entering he would shoot 30-year-old Igor Ustinov. Others in the Pharmacy would run into another room and huddle in a corner.

He would walk outside reload his gun and then come back inside. He would walk past Igor who was laying on the ground suffering from his wound. He would then ask "Where is he?" and then turn around and finish killing Igor by shooting him in the face several times.

According to witnesses, he stated "It's all your fault, it's all your fault white coats. When he was satisfied that Igor was dead he placed the gun into the black cellophane bag and left. He changed the direction he was walking several times and police were able to follow him on CCTV until Truda Street about a kilometer from the pharmacy.

Witnesses from the first scene stated that he was a man between 27 and 35 years old. He's 5'9" to 6'0" and 180 to 185 lbs. He is blonde with a face full of acne. He was wearing a jacket with blue and green stripes, blue jeans, and a dark-colored baseball cap. The only difference between the first description of him and the second it seemed as if he was sickly. He had a yellow look to his skin.

According to witnesses, the criminal looked ridiculous and behaved uncertainly. He was also heard expressing himself in phrases used by stereotypical American soldiers. It's possible that the murderer robbed people from the first scene to cover up the fact that he resented the pharmacy chain, "maybe, he cannot purchase some kind of drug.". He may have been sick with something as he was looking yellow during the second murder.


SOURCES:
Wikipedia (there is a video of the second murder on here)
Serial Killer Database
Serial Killers Wiki

Murders of Florence Eyssalenne and Gretta Denise Rainey

Photo of Florence Eyssalenne

On 600 block of 3rd St. SE at the Capitol Hill Apartments in Washington, D.C. two women were murdered in an apartment building. The two apartments were next to each other, and neither were broken into. It seemed that the suspect either knew the victims or somehow was allowed in the homes. He would sexually assault the women and strangle them to death. It wasn't until 2022 that DNA connected the two cases. The DNA belongs to a man believed to be Black. 

Around 9 am on October 27, 1985, 23-year-old Florence Eyssalenne's body would be found dead in her apartment. She was raped and strangled to death. 

At 12:20 pm on May 13, 1987, 35-year-old Gretta Rainey's girlfriend Roxanne Johnson became concerned for her. Gretta was not answering the phone when she called. So Roxanne would come to the apartment with a coworker and would find Gretta's body. She had been raped and strangled to death. 

SOURCES:

Uncovered Florence

Uncovered (Greta)

Metropolitan Police DC

Metropolitan Police DC (Greta)

Washington Post May 13,1987

Washington Blade October 19, 2022

Murder of Bertha Scott and Nancy Lagerquist

On May 2, 1990, 86-year-old Bertha Scott was found dead in her room at the Riverside Health Care Facility on East Broadway in Missoula, Montana. She was found still restrained to her bed, but it was not seen as a suspicious death at the time. The window however was open which was memorable to some, but not strange. 

Around 2 am on July 1st 87-year-old Nancy Lagerquist, who was a resident at the same facility, was taken from her room. It was found that Nancy was sexually assaulted and died because of it. Her body was then thrown into the river where she was found. 

When staff was interviewed a nurse recalled how Bertha, who died in May, had discoloration on her throat. This would lead investigators to exhume Bertha's remains and autopsy her body. Bertha had been murdered by being strangled to death. It's believed the killer or killers broke into the rooms using the windows of the rooms. 

SOURCES:

Missoula County

Uncovered (Bertha)

Uncovered (Nancy)

The Havre Daily News August 16, 1990

The Missoulian Augustt 21, 1990

Murders of Thomas Smith and Squire Knyston

 

Photo of Thomas Smith

On April 4, 1905, 15-year-old Thomas Smith would leave his home on Wood Street in Chorlton-on-Medlock in Manchester, England. His mother would think that he was looking for work. However, the timid boy would not return home that night. It was assumed that maybe he had gone to visit either his sister in Dunkinfield or the one in Denton. 

The next day two boys he knew came to the house and asked if Thomas was going to work. Not knowing where Thomas was and not wanting him to lose his job she sent a note to his employers that he wasn't feeling well. However, she was worried sick about him. She would make inquiries to see if he was at either sisters, but he wasn't.

At 3pm on April 11, 1905, a rag-and-bone men would go to an uninhabited house on Hoyle Street off Fairfield Street in Ancoats. While gathering items he looked in the cellar window a body would be found lying on his back under a slab. He would tell another rag-and-bone man his discovery and the two would go to the police. 

The police would break into the home and go down to the cellar. It was obvious that the boy was murdered brutally. There was a bloody brick on his neck. A newspaper comic of "Funny Cuts" from April 8th was found stuffed in his mouth as a gag and his red handkerchief with 7 black stripes was tied over it. He was partially dressed and what clothes he had were torn and disarrayed. His pants were pulled down in the back and cut in the front. 

 His face was so beaten that he was unrecognizable. His body was also covered in bruises. He had fought back with his attacker that the nail from his middle left finger was torn off. His arms were covered in scratches he wasn't just beaten, but also stomped as a boot print was on his stomach. His genitals were also mutilated while he was alive. 

It could not be said if he was sexually assaulted, but it was suspected that he was. 

Even though the brick was bloody and found at the scene the coroner believed that a knob-like object was used to beat him. 

It was thought that he had been dead for a couple of days even though he had been missing for a week. It's not stated if they think he was held prisoner, but they know that the crime didn't happen in the cellar he was found in. The only access was a window as the doors to the cellar were locked. 

He had not been reported missing, but when the description was put in the paper his mother knew it was him. His mother and older brother, Issac, would go to identify him. They could not identify him from his face due to the brutality on it. Instead, they identified him by his clothes. At the time he was dressed in a black Vicuna jacket, black vest, dark grey trousers with black stripe, blue and red striped cotton shirt, two odd black stockings, and clasped clogs. He also had in his possession a second-class ticket for the swimming bath, Mayfield Baths, number 7,837.

In 1906, 15-year-old Squire Kynston lived with his mother at Whitsuntide at 7 Back Grey Street in Manchester, England. In August he and his mother would get into an argument after he had stayed out all night. She saw him the day after he stayed out on Butler St. She would say "You naughty boy, go right home and stay in the house" while slapping him on the side of the head. She would never see him again after this argument. 

Someone had told her later he was with his cousin. She would assume that Squire was staying with her sister and assumed he was safe. She did not check up on him however since she and her sister did not have a good relationship. It wasn't stated if he was staying with his aunt or just assumed he was. 

On Chapel St behind London Road Station, there was an unoccupied house set to be demolished. On November 20th A workman would enter the house. He stated when he entered the ground floor rooms of the home there was a stench in the air. He would find out that the stench was coming from the cellar. He would go down the stairs nearly tripping over something. It was Squire's body. The worker would quickly go and get the police. 

One of his shoulders was under a slab of flag and his head was partially under a slope stone. Squire was not wearing any clothes when he was found, but a thin strap was found wrapped around his neck. It's believed it was wrapped tightly around his neck. It was unknown what his cause of death was as he was too decomposed and rats had been eating him. However, it was believed he may have been sexually assaulted as his pants were not on him. He was not beaten on his head like Thomas.

Though both boys had died in different ways, the way they were found in similar ways and places. 

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK (Thomas)

Unsolved Murders UK (Squire)

Days of Horror

Manchester Evening News April 12, 1905

Leicester Mercury April 12, 1905

Birmingham Evening Mail

The Lane Bryant Murders

On February 2, 2008 Store Manager Rhoda McFarland and an unnamed employee were at their work at a Lane Bryant clothing outlet in the Brookside Marketplace in the Tinley Park Suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Inside the store were 37-year-old Connie Woolfolk, 22-year-old Sarah Szafranski, 33-year-old Carrie Hudek, and 34-year-old Jennifer Bishop were in the store.

A man would come into the store and announce that he was robbing the place. All six women were taken to the back of the store and bound them with duct tape. Rhoda would be able to break free from her bindings was able to make a call to the police on her phone. The killer would find her and shoot them all.  

It was said that police would show up in just a few minutes, but the killer had fled. Five of them had died and the unnamed employee was the only survivor. 

It was found that the store did not have any security cameras so there is no footage of the man. 

The killer was described as a black man. He had thick cornrowed hair with a braid lying over the right side of the face and a receding hairline. The braid was at cheek level and was decorated with four light green beads at the end. It's not known what the actual motive was for the murders. It's possible it was for a robbery gone wrong, but it's unknown. 

SOURCES:
Wikipedia

Tinley Park

Southtown Star May 19, 2008

CBS News  Feb 2, 2023

ABC 7 News Feb. 2, 2023

ABC 7 News Feb. 3, 2023

Murder of Jameila Hesseltine and Carl Reed

On September 12, 2011, Jameila Hesseltine and Carl Reed were found dead in an upstairs apartment on 4439 Commercial Avenue #3 in Omaha, Nebraska. Jameila's sons found the couple dead around 9:10 a.m. Both of them had been shot multiple times. Carl's knuckles showed evidence that he fought off the killers. 

The couple had only been together for 6 months before their death. It's believed that this was a targeted killing. Jameila's family suspects that Carl may have been the initial target. There is however no known motive for the murder. 

SOURCES:

City of Omaha

Fox 42 September 12, 2012

KETV September 12, 2021

Murder of Stella Bolton and James Moore

At 1:30 a.m. on February 16, 1991, the home of 63-year-old Stella Bolton and 73-year-old James J.J. Moore at 74 Rockhill Avenue in Portsmouth, New Hampshire would be on fire. Inside the two's bodies would be found inside and they had been murdered. They had been stabbed to death and then a fire was set in the left rear bedroom. The knife was believed to be found in the neighborhood by a boy.

The two were known to be friendly and got along with people. This may have been the reason they were targeted. 

SOURCES:
New Hampshire Department of Justice
Dark Down East
Seacoast Online November 23, 2021

WMUR February 16, 2022

Murder of Kenneth Duval Clinton

 Around 3:27 a.m. on January 8, 1995, 39-year-old Kenneth Clinton was attending a party for the Brothers Free Motorcycle Club at 2222 NE Alberta St. in Portland, Oregon. The building would be shot up and 5 people would be wounded by the shots. The person was across the street from the building and by the time people came to look all they saw was someone getting in a car and fleeing. Kenneth would be the only death as he had died 10 days after the shooting. 

SOURCES:

The City of Portland, Oregon

Statesman Journal January 9, 1995

Murders of of Dequincy Antonio Smith and Dontay Williams

Dontay Williams                                 Antonion Smith

On August 28, 2007, around 8:46p.m. officers responded to an apartment on the 200 block of Southerly Rd. in Baltimore, Maryland. Inside they found two men who had been shot. 23-year-old Dequincy Smith was already dead and 21-year-old Dontay Williams was still alive. Dontay would pass away later at the hospital.

Witnesses stated that two suspects entered the apartment and shot both men before fleeing to a vehicle outside. 

SOURCES:

Anne Arundel, Maryland

The Baltimore Sun August 29, 2007